When a prominent poultry processor and valued customer to Tri-Mach chose to include a variable retention time (VRT) freezer in their plant expansion project, they needed to source an intricate case handling infeed system to complement their VRT capital investment. Tri-Mach was honoured to be selected for the first and second phases of this exciting project.
Tri-Mach was awarded the project in a turnkey capacity, tasked with the complete mechanical and electrical scope of work from the conveyor design and fabrication, to the electrical design and wiring. As with all projects at Tri-Mach, a full Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) was completed at our facility in Elmira, Ontario. The system was then disassembled and shipped where a team of highly-skilled Tri-Mach installers reassembled and commissioned the entire system in the new expansion.
Phase 1 included over 750 feet of powered case handling conveyors. In collaboration with the Intralox engineering team, Tri-Mach designed an extremely compact, two-tiered design that included the latest innovation in case handling: the Driven Active Roller Belt (DARB) Sorter. The Intralox 90˚ DARB Sorter is the fastest in its class for 90-degree sorting of product into tight, divert centerlines. This equipment improves plant layout optimization, positively impacting overall footprint, throughputs, and system reliability.
This equipment solution is extremely valuable when the objective is to achieve 90 degree sorting with a throughput greater than forty products per minute, or accurate sorting in a small footprint. Typically, this technology is ideal in the following situations: high-rate sorting at 90 degrees with tight, divert spacing, sorting into accumulation lines, sorting into a mini-load AS/RS (Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems), carton sequencing, single 90 degree divert stations, and when changing carton orientation during high-rate sorting.
This project was a complete success for Tri-Mach, Intralox, and our valued customer. We look forward to working with them on future projects and wish them continued success.